Kristy - 1

Melbourne - Robe

Well we’ve made a start!  It’s taken a week to settle in but I’m now confident that we’ll last the distance.  Taz started the trip with terrible homesickness, Ry lost the plot with excitement and Taj was bitten by five different species of animals within the first two days!  Add to that my split head, Dad’s dodgy knee and Mum’s effort to launch Chris off a cliff and I’d say, yep, we’ve really settled in.

 

 

So this time round we started off with a few extra travellers.  Mum and Dad, along with my childhood neighbours Bev and Don Woods joined us at Halls Gap.  We thought this would be a good way to ease Mum and Dad into the road trip scenario, princess style.  The caravan park was stunning, the views amazing, the wildlife abundant, the private ensuites pristine and the pool set at a delightful 30 degrees.

 

I’ve been to Halls Gap before so I knew that everyone would love the walk to the Pinnacle.  We set off at a leisurely pace in 30+ degrees.  We reached the top and enjoyed the breathtaking views and were about to return along the same trail that we came in on when a spritely senior citizen said, “Oh you’d be much better of returning to the Wonderland carpark, it’s a much easier walk.”  We took his advice and thanked him for his concern.  Bev and Don headed back the way we came and agreed to bring the cars down to the carpark for us.  Ten minutes Mr Spritely Senior Citizen hopped past us with a smile and a wave.  Dad’s knee had hyperextended three times, the kids had run ahead out of site and at times we found ourselves having to get on our bums to manoeuvre down the rock face.  Two hours later we spot the carpark, it was at this point that we paused to chat with some Canadian tourists.  The group had walked all the way from Halls Gap and were about to climb to the Pinnacle however it was still very hot, they had no water and the worst of the climb was yet to come.  I offered them the rest of our water and proceeded to fill their bottles as Mum, Dad and Chris continued on to the carpark.  A couple of minutes I’m trotting down the hill, I can hear Mum but can’t see her.  I soon found myself standing in the carpark with the kids, Don and Bev but no Mum, Dad or Chris.  Baffled, we start calling out but there’s no response.  I run back up the hill, no sign of them.  Fifteen minutes pass and finally I see Chris in a clearing and instruct him to go left.  I run back up the hill and firstly come across Mum looking quite determined.  “We went the wrong way” is all she says.  “Oh, who was leading?” I ask.  “Me”, comes the reply as she continues down the hill.  Chris emerges from the bush scratched and bleeding along with Dad in a similar state.  Apparently they had continued to bush bash right up until they came to the edge of a cliff.

The Zoo at Halls Gap was an amazing gem to stumble across.  Such a variety of exotic and native animals, who would have though?  All the kids got to have a personal animal encounter thanks to funds from the “Pee Off Pentlands” pot.  We pretty much had the entire zoo to ourselves.

As beautiful as Halls Gap is other destinations were calling and after our cameo appearance on Sunrise we hitched up, bid farewell to Don and Bev and headed west.  Priorities firmly set, our first stop was the final Aldi store that we’d see for the next 4 months.  Ten tubs of peanut butter later and we were on the road again.  Now when people talk of contrast you’d commonly think, black and white, or perhaps hot and cold, I on the other hand think Mt Gambier.  The roar of industry just never lets up!  Banging and crashing, smoke billowing, trucks and tractors growling the noise is relentless 24hrs a day.  Then, in the middle of the mayhem you find the most stunning sink holes, tenderly planted out by botanists, manicured by garden fairies and alive with wildlife.  It was truly surprising and well worth investigating.

After just one night of sleeping in the showgrounds we headed to Robe on the south coast of South Australia.  No contrasts here, just perfection at every turn.  Stunning architecture, historical beauty, stories of intrigue, Robe has it all.  We drove out along Long beach to fish until the sunset while eating homemade ice-cream.  Everyone wet a line but all we ended up with was Grandma’s crabs, much to the amusement of the kids.  It was on return from our fishing night that I had my little accident.  Being the dedicated Mum I am I went to check that the kids were all tucked up in bed when as I turned out of Ry’s tent I head butted the back of the van.  Now it’s rumoured that I had been drinking, that I wasn’t wearing my glasses and that I tripped on a booby trap, none of these things can be denied or confirmed as the concussion has left me with a short memory loss.  Whatever the cause the outcome had Chris quickly calling for back up as a slouched on the ground with a hand full of blood.  Dad came to help (well kind of, heartless bastard) declaring it to be a small scratch, a flesh wound and nothing more.  Mum helped me wash the blood out of my hair in the sink and went to bed feeling very sore.

 

 

 

Tomorrow sees us head off to Victor Harbour.  New adventures await.